vz9J5999953HgH955BR8 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


C/0SS 


DEPT. 


REPORT 


OF  THE 


Appointed  by  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  New    York,  pursuant  to 
Chapter  1025,  Laws  of  1895. 


DATED,     NOVEMBER     3O,     1895 


CHARLES  T.  SAXTON, 
DANFORTH  E.  AINSWORTH 
JOHN  J.  LINSON, 
JOHN  S.  KENYON, 
SIMON  STERNE, 

Commissioners. 


THK  EVENING  POST  JOB  PRINTING  HOUSE,  X.  Y. 


REPORT. 


LEVI    P.    MORTON,   GOVERNOR   OF  THE   STATE  OF 
NEW  YORK: 

SIR: 

The  undersigned  Commissioners,  appointed  by  you,  pur- 
suant to  Chapter  1025  of  the  Laws  of  1895,  to  "  investigate 
"  in  relation  to  the  organization  and  government  of  the 
"  Legislature,  the  introduction  and  progression  of  bills,  and 
"  generally  in  relation  to  legislative  business  and  methods," 
respectfully  report : 

The  title  of  the  act  under  which  the  undersigned  were 
appointed  implies,  in  its  terms,  that  the  condition  of  legisla- 
tion in  the  State  of  New  York  is  such  that  recommenda- 
tions of  changes  in  the  methods  of  legislation  are  necessary. 

The  single  legislative  session  of  1895  was  productive  of 
upwards  of  1,045  Acts,  requiring  for  their  printing  three 
large  volumes  of  3,250  pages.  There  can  be  no  proper 
legislative  need  so  great  as  to  require  in  one  year,  for  a 
single  State,  1,045  new  enactments.  This  vast  bulk  of 
legislation  represents  about  one-third  of  the  bills  that  com- 
manded the  attention  of  the  Legislature,  and  bears  witness, 
first,  to  the  fact  that  probably  a  great  number  of  these  bills 
which  became  laws  are  needless,  and  some,  probably,  mis- 
chievous, and,  second,  that  it  is  not  physically  possible  for 
the  members  of  the  Legislature,  under  existing  conditions, 
to  carefully  scrutinize  or  become  cognizant  of  the  measures 
before  them.  These  evils  have  been  manifest  and  have  been 
constantly  growing  in  dimensions.  Thereiore,  to  reduce, 
if  possible,  the  number  of  the  measures  which  come  before 
the  Legislature  for  its  attention,  and  to  subject  those  which 
make  their  appearance  at  the  annual  sessions  to  a  proper 
scrutiny  and  consideration,  have,  for  a  number  of  years 
past,  been  the  desirable  ends  had  in  view  by  legislative 
enactments,  and  even  Constitutional  Amendments.  Not- 
withstanding the  efforts  heretofore  made,  it  must  be 


571 


confessed  that  they  have  not  proved  adequate  checks  to 
the  evils  of  over-legislation  and  of  slipshod  and  ill-consid- 
ered measures.  This  condition  of  affairs  is  evidenced  by  the 
constant  growth  of  the  annual  output  of  laws,  the  increas- 
ing difficulties  which  beset  courts  in  their  interpretation, 
the  large  proportion  of  laws  which,  under  the  guise  of 
general  laws,  seek  merely  private  ends,  and  the  very  large 
amount  of  evidently  unnecessary  special  and  local  bills 
which  become  statutes. 

These  great  grievances  and  mischiefs  are  not  confined  to 
the  State  of  New  York  alone.  The  National  Legislature 
suffers  from  the  same  constantly-growing  evil — perhaps  not 
to  the  same  degree,  but  sufficiently  to  have  justified  the 
following  opinions  of  two  leaders  of  opposite  political  par- 
ties, simultaneously  expressed  at  the  ceremonies  attending 
the  conclusion  of  the  labors  of  the  Forty-eighth  Congress, 
March  4,  1885. 

Senator  Edmunds,  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  said  : 

"  It  may  not  be  improper  for  me  to  say  that,  in  view  of 
our  recent  experience,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  Con- 
gress can  congratulate  itself  on  being  the  best  example  of  a 
legislative  body  conducting  its  business  with  that  delib- 
erate and  timely  diligence  which  is  the  inseparable  hand- 
maid of  wisdom  and  justice,  as  well  in  the  making  as  in  the 
administration  of  laws.  It  is,  I  think,  an  evil  of  large  and 
growing  proportions  that  measures  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance, requiring  much  time  for  proper  examination  and 
discussion  in  detail,  are  brought  to  our  consideration  so  late 
that  it  is  not  possible  to  deal  with  them  intelligently,  and 
which  we  are  tempted  (over-tempted,  I  fear),  to  enact  into 
laws  in  the  hope  that  fortune,  rather  than  time,  study  and 
reflection,  will  take  care  that  the  public  suffer  no  detri- 
ment." 

Mr.  Carlisle,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, at  the  same  hour,  said  : 

"  It  is  evident  that  unless  some  constitutional  or  legal 
provision  can  be  adopted,  which  will  relieve  Congress  from 


the  consideration  of  all,  or  at  least  a  large  part,  of  the  local 
and  private  measures  which  now  occupy  the  time  of  the 
committees  and  fill  the  calendar  of  the  two  Houses,  the 
percentage  of  business  left  undisposed  of  at  each  adjourn- 
ment must  continue  to  increase.  It  is  not  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  an  alteration  of  the  Constitution  could  be 
effected;  but  it  is  worthy  of  serious  consideration  whether 
a  general  law  might  not  be  enacted  which  would  authorize 
the  Executive  Departments  and  Courts  of  Justice  to  hear 
and  determine  these  matters,  under  such  rules  and  regula- 
tions, of  course,  as  would  amply  protect  the  interests  of  the 
Government  and  secure  to  the  citizen,  doubtless,  a  more 
expeditious  and  appropriate  remedy  than  is  now  offered." 

On  January  i,  1875,  an  amendment  to  the  Legislative 
Article  of  the  Constitution  went  into  force,  as  the  result  of 
the  recommendations  made  by  a  Constitutional  Commission 
appointed  by  Governor  Hoffman  a  few  years  prior  thereto, 
and  subsequently  adopted  as  Section  18  of  Article  3  of  the 
Constitution.  This  amendment  was  expected  to  remedy 
the  evil  of  careless  and  over-legislation  from  which  this 
State  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  suffering. 

The  Legislature  was  prohibited  by  that  section  from  pass- 
ing private  or  local  bills  upon  certain  specified  subjects,  to 
the  end,  doubtless,  that  the  statute  books  should  not  be 
cumbered  with  a  multitude  of  special  laws,  the  objects  of 
which  could  be  better  secured  by  the  enactment  of  general 
statutes.  But  whatever  benefits  may  have  accrued  from 
the  provision  (and  there  are  some),  it  certainly  may  be  said 
to  have  brought  into  existence,  or,  at  least,  greatly  aggra- 
vated certain  evils,  the  most  mischievous  of  which  is  the 
practice  of  concealing,  under  the  guise  of  general  laws, 
legislation  designed  to  affect  private  interests  and  to  meet 
individual  cases.  This  practice,  which  has  become  very 
common,  tends  to  destroy  the  symmetry  of  the  laws  that  are 
thus  amended  ;  to  substitute  fickleness  and  changeableness 
for  certainty  and  stability;  to  unsettle  judicial  construction 
and  precedent,  and,  in  many  cases,  to  deprive  citizens  of 
vested  rights,  without  giving  them  an  opportunity  to  be 
heard  in  their  own  behalf. 


The  enemy  of  good  legislation  was  not  driven  from  the 
field  of  operations  by  this  constitutional  amendment,  but 
concealed  itself  in  a  disguise  more  dangerous  to  the  Com- 
monwealth than  the  theretofore  open  and  avowed  purpose  of 
obtaining  either  private  and  local  immunity  from  the  gen- 
eral law  by  a  declared  special  or  local  enactment,  or  a  spe- 
cial and  local  law  governing  a  particular  case  not  contem- 
plated or  provided  for  by  the  general  law. 

The  Code  of  Civil  Procedure  has  been  the  special  object 
of  attack  from  those  desirous  of  promoting  this  kind  of 
legislation,  now  known  as  the  general  law,  with  a  specially 
private  or  local  object.  Ingeniously  drafted  bills,  steering 
clear  of  constitutional  inhibitions,  are  passed  for  effect  on 
pending  litigation,  and  the  unities  of  Code  procedure  are  de- 
stroyed and  lost  sight  of,  for  the  benefit  of  a  suitor  or  the 
discomfiture  of  his  adversary. 

The  Constitutional  Amendment  referred  to  has  failed 
to  restrict  local  or  special  legislation  ;  it  has  failed  to 
diminish  the  demand  upon  the  legislative  time,  or  to  lessen 
the  pressure  on  the  time  of  the  members,  or  to  increase,  by 
giving  additional  leisure  to  members,  the  chances  of  general 
laws  being  carefully  considered  and  passed. 

The  undersigned  Commissioners,  therefore,  do  not  favor- 
ably regard  the  further  extension  of  such  restrictions  upon 
the  passage  of  special  or  local  bills,  as  are  imposed  by  Sec- 
tion 1 8,  Article  3,  of  the  Constitution,  and  have  been  led,  by 
consideration,  reflection,  and  the  practice  of  sister  States  of 
the  Union  and  of  other  nations,  to  seek  in  other  directions 
for  relief  from  the  conditions  which  hamper  and  impede 
the  usefulness  of  the  successive  legislative  bodies  of  the 
State  of  New  York. 

The  undersigned  are  reluctant  to  enter  into  the  details 
of  the  special  evils  incident  to  the  lack  of  proper  consider- 
ation of,  and  deliberation  upon,  bills  which  are  pre- 
sented to  a  legislative  body,  but  they  would  be  unmindful 
of  their  duty  if  they  did  not  briefly  draw  attention  to 
some  of  those  which  are  most  manifest. 

The  chaotic  condition  of  the  general  statute  law  of  the 
State,  and  its  unscientific  arrangement,  have  long  been  the 


subject  of  complaint  and  animadversion.  Notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  several  attempts  have  been  made,  there  has 
been  no  complete  revision  since  the  Revised  Statutes  of 
1830,  although  the  changes  in  business  conditions  since 
that  date  have  been  extraordinary.  Corporations,  then 
small  in  number,  and  limited  in  the  scope  of  their  opera- 
tions to  a  few  purposes,  have  become  almost  numberless, 
and  may  be  organized  for  any  legitimate  object  whatever. 
The  wonders  wrought  by  steam  and  electricity  have 
revolutionized  travel  and  transportation,  and  the  complica- 
tions incident  to  the  operations  of  such  great  interests  have 
correspondingly  left  traces  of  change  on  the  pages  of  the 
written  law. 

Recognizing  the  importance  of  a  more  simple  and  philo- 
sophical arrangement  of  the  statutes,  the  Legislature  in 
1889  directed  the  commencement  of  such  a  work,  which 
from  that  time  to  the  present  has  been  carried  on  by  the 
Commissioners  of  Statutory  Revision.  The  plan  on  which 
they  have  proceeded  contemplates  the  consolidation  of  all 
the  public  statute  law,  outside  the  Penal  Code,  the  Code  of 
Criminal  Procedure  and  the  Code  of  Civil  Procedure,  into 
a  series  of  about  fifty  chapters,  each  independent  in  itself, 
and  having  a  short  title,  expressive  of  its  subject  matter,  and 
easy  of  reference.  This  plan  has  been  repeatedly  sanctioned 
by  the  Legislature,  and  has  progressed  so  far  that  about 
three-fifths  of  the  proposed  chapters  have  now  become  law, 
and  most  of  the  remainder  are,  as  we  are  informed,  in  vary- 
ing stages  of  completion. 

The  importance  of  finishing  this  work,  and  of  incorpo- 
rating therein,  the  independent  general  statutes  passed  since 
1889  and  not  already  so  consolidated  therewith,  is  manifest. 
When  done,  if  well  done,  a  careful  and  competent  lawyer 
will,  for  the  first  time  in  two-thirds  of  a  century,  be  able  after 
a  given  examination  to  be  certain  what  the  law  actually  is. 
But,  even  then,  the  classification  thus  begun  must  be  main- 
tained, and  new  statutes  must  be  framed  by  way  of  amend- 
ment and  not  independently,  else  the  rapid  multiplication 
of  new  laws  will  speedily  produce  a  renewal  of  present  con- 
ditions. 


Among  the  ills  that  would  be  eradicated  by  a  strict 
adherence  to  the  programme  thus  outlined,  is  the  per- 
nicious system  of  repeal  by  implication,  which  places 
on  the  citizen,  and  often  on  the  public  official,  the 
responsibility  of  construction  ;  in  which  process  he  must 
determine  rightly  at  his  peril.  Apparently  conflicting 
and  irreconcilable  positive  requirements  of  law  compel 
the  exercise  of  legislative  and  judicial  functions  by  persons 
whose  duties  are  supposed  to  be  administrative  simply.  As 
illustrative  ol  their  meaning,  the  undersigned  Commissioners 
quote  from  the  report  of  the  Commissioners  of  Statutory 
Revision  made  in  1894,  in  their  memorandum  accompany- 
ing the  draft  of  the  canal  law  which  was  enacted  at  that 
session,  and  which,  in  107  sections,  occupying  49  pages  of 
the  Session  Laws  (including  a  long  schedule  of  laws  re- 
pealed), consolidated  the  provisions  of  the  statutes  re- 
ferred to  which  were  actually  in  force : 

"  The  written  law  of  the  State  relating  to  the  canals  is  in 
a  condition  of  almost  hopeless  confusion.  This  has  arisen, 
in  great  measure,  from  the  frequent  enactment  of  statutes 
partly  or  wholly  inconsistent  with  preceding  ones,  without 
express  repeal,  thus  frequently  devolving,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, on  the  administrative  officers  of  the  State,  and  in 
the  last  resort  on  the  courts,  the  difficult  task  of  deciding, 
at  the  peril  of  the  former,  the  status  of  the  law  and  the 
rights  and  liabilities  of  the  citizen  thereunder. 

"  The  result  of  all  this  legislative  patchwork  has  been  the 
present  exceedingly  unsatisfactory  labyrinth  of  the  statute 
law.  The  duties  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Canal  Fund, 
of  the  Canal  Board,  of  the  Comptroller,  of  the  Superintend- 
ent of  Public  Works  and  of  the  State  Engineer  are  involved 
in  inextricable  confusion.  In  practice,  consequently,  im- 
portant rights  and  privileges  depend  on  construction  and 
not  on  the  letter  of  the  law." 

Chief  Justice  Church,  in  the  Matter  of  Kiernan  (62  N.  Y., 
459,  decided  in  1875),  said,  in  delivering  the  opinion  of  the 
Court,  that  it  was  not  safe  for  him  to  speak  confidently  of 
the  exact  condition  of  the  law  in  respect  to  public  improve- 
ments in  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  and  added, 


1  that  the  enactments  in  reference  thereto  had  been  modi- 
fied^ superseded  and  repealed  so  often  and  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  just  what  statutes  were  in  force 
at  any  particular  time."  What  a  commentary  is  this  upon 
the  condition  of  the  laws  of  a  great  Commonwealth,  when 
its  Court  of  last  resort  has  to  confess  that  it  finds  it  almost 
impossible  to  ascertain  upon  a  given  subject  what  the  statu- 
tory enactments  are  !  And  yet  every  citizen  is  presumed  to 
know  these  laws. 

By  far  the  major  part  of  the  bills  which  are  presented  to 
the  Legislature  are  drawn  at  the  instigation  of  private  or 
local  interests,  and  frequently  without  regard  either  to  their 
effect  upon  the  general  body  of  legislation  of  the  State,  or 
upon  adverse  interests,  or  upon  any  interests  other  than 
those  which  prompt  the  drawing  of  the  bill.  They  are  pre- 
sented during  the  greater  part  of  the  legislative  session 
practically  without  limitation  as  to  time  of  introduction,  and 
without  notice  of  their  purposes  to  interests  to  be  affected. 
They  come  upon  the  Legislature  in  such  bulk  and  numbers 
that  their  proper  consideration  is  impossible,  even  on  the 
part  of  the  committees  which  have  them  in  charge,  whose 
duty  nominally  it  is  to  digest,  examine,  study  and  have 
hearings  upon  every  measure  which  is  submitted  to  their 
care.  No  reflection  is  intended  to  be  made  upon  the  com- 
mittees or  their  members  for  the  non-performance  or  par- 
tial performance  of  a  duty  which  has  become  too  onerous 
for  human  possibility.  When  presented  to  the  Senate  or 
Assembly,  and  placed  upon  the  files  of  members  in  printed 
form,  they  are  presented  with  so  little  method  as  to  proce- 
dure when  they  are  to  be  considered  on  second  reading  or 
in  committees  of  the  whole,  that  it  is  practically  impossible 
for  even  the  best  informed  and  most  industrious  legislator 
to  understand  what  changes  are  being  made  in  the  existing 
law,  or  to  keep  himself  so  informed  as  to  the  major  part 
of  the  legislation,  during  its  passage  in  the  Senate  or 
Assembly,  as  to  exercise  a  deliberate  judgment  before  he 
votes.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  it  is  physically  im- 
possible for  him  to  even  read  the  contents  of  his  files  dur- 
ing the  session,  in  addition  to  the  performance  of  his  other 


8 

duties.  The  consequence  is  that  usually  each  member 
takes  an  active  personal  interest  in  the  bills  which  come 
from  his  own  constituency,  and  sometimes  takes  an  interest 
in  the  general  bills  which  come  before  the  legislative  bodies, 
and,  as  to  the  remainder,  constituting  the  vast  majority  of 
the  bills,  is  compelled,  in  the  language  of  Senator  Edmunds, 
to  enact,  by  his  vote,  the  measures  into  laws  "  in  the  hope 
that  fortune  rather  than  time,  study  and  reflection  will  take 
care  that  the  public  suffer  no  detriment." 

The  Commission  is  advised  that  the  number  of  bills 
introduced  into  the  Legislature  of  1895,  was  about  3,000, 
some  of  which,  doubtless,  exceeded  100  large  pages  of 
closely  printed  matter.  From  this  statement,  some  idea  of 
the  magnitude  of  a  legislator's  duties  may  be  conceived. 
It  follows  that  many  unobtrusive  yet  radical  changes  in 
the  law  are  frequently  first  brought  to  the  attention  of  a 
majority  of  the  members  of  either  House  on  their  third 
reading,  or  only  after  the  bill  becomes  a  law. 

The  Commission  is  not  unmindful  of  the  very  consider- 
able benefits  which  have  been  derived  from  the  provision 
of  the  Constitution  as  in  force  on  January  i,  1895,  re- 
quiring bills  to  be  printed  and  on  the  desks  of  the  legis- 
lators three  days  before  their  enactment.  This  prevents 
some  of  the  worst  evils  which  heretofore  attended  the 
closing  days  of  the  legislative  sessions.  The  orderly  and 
decorous  procedure  of  the  closing  days  of  the  legisla- 
tive session  of  1895,  as  compared  with  the  closing  days  of 
legislative  sessions  prior  thereto,  attests  the  efficacy  and 
wisdom  of  this  Constitutional  Amendment,  and  shows  how 
much  good  can  be  produced  by  the  introduction  of  method 
and  order  and  by  properly  systematized  legislative  proce- 
dure. 

The  adoption  of  the  Constitutional  Amendment  recom- 
mended by  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1894,  relating 
to  laws  which  affect  cities,  has  also  limited  the  opportunity 
for  improper,  hasty  legislative  enactments  in  relation  to 
the  interests  affecting  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  the  vast  pecuniary  in- 
terests embraced  within  urban  limits  in  this  State. 


The  requirement  which  gives  to  the  Mayors  ol  these 
cities  an  opportunity  for  inspection  and  an  opinion  conse- 
quent upon  the  inspection  of  such  laws  before  they  can  be 
finally  acted  upon  by  the  Legislature,  has  been  promotive 
of  the  public  good. 

The  criticism  which  is  made,  however,  is  that  whilst  this 
may  prevent  mischievous  legislation  and  bring  public 
opinion  to  bear  against  it,  it  deals  with  the  measure  as  a 
whole,  and  only  after  it  has  passed  all  the  legislative  stages, 
and  that  no  proper  opportunity  is  afforded  by  this  Constitu- 
tional Amendment  to  improve  and  perfect  proposed  legisla- 
tion whilst  it  is  upon  its  passage,  by  compulsory  timely 
notice  of  intention  to  apply  for  its  passage,  and  proper  hear- 
ings whilst  the  bill  is  on  its  way  to  become  a  law. 

This  Commission  invited  the  opinions  of  persons  of  large 
legislative  experience,  and  at  several  sessions  have  been 
favored  by  their  attendance  and  their  views.  There  has 
been  a  general  agreement  with  the  views  of  the  Commis- 
mision  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  been  thus  invited  and 
attended,  that  to  secure  better  legislation  in  the  future  it  is 
necessary  to  methodize  and  improve  legislation  in  the  fol- 
lowing particulars  : 

FIRST.— That  all  private  and  local  bills,  including  bills 
which  relate  to  municipalities,  shall  be  filed  either  before 
the  beginning  of  the  legislative  session  or  within  thirty 
days  before  their  presentation  to  the  Legislature,  unless 
the  Governor  of  the  State  takes  upon  himself  the  respon- 
sibility of  making  a  special  recommendation  of  urgency  ; 
and  that  each  bill  shall  be  accompanied  with  proof  that  a 
notice  was  duly  published  or  personally  served,  or  both,  as 
the  circumstances  of  the  case  may  require,  on  every  interest 
which  may  be  affected  by  such  legislation. 

SECOND.— That  the  petition  for  such  legislation  shall  set 
forth  its  general  scope,  object  and  utility.  This  petition 
may  be  answered  in  writing  by  any  adverse  interest.  Such 
petition  and  one  or  more  answers  which  partake  of  the 
nature  of  pleadings  in  a  civil  suit,  shall  be  filed  with  the 


10 

bill,  and  these  petitions  and  counter-petitions,  duly  signed, 
shall  accompany  each  bill  of  this  character  during  the 
whole  of  its  legislative  progression. 

THIRD.— That  Committees  of  Revision,  both  Senate  and 
Assembly,  should  have  their  powers  enlarged  for  the  con- 
sideration of  all  measures,  both  public  and  private  or  local, 
and  that  each  of  such  committees  shall  be  assisted  in  its 
labors  by  a  lawyer  of  at  least  ten  years'  standing,  with  an 
adequate  salary  to  insure  proper  talent,  who  shall  have 
such  assistants  as  may  be  necessary.  These  committees  to 
act  as  advisory  committees  for  redrafting  bills,  and  for 
recommendations  as  to  their  effect,  with  suggestions  as  to 
their  operation  upon  the  general  body  of  the  law,  and  to 
point  out  constitutional  or  other  defects.  Such  counsel  to 
be  appointed  by  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor  and 
Speaker  of  the  House/for  a  fixed  term. 

FOURTH: — That  a  day  calendar  shall  be  printed  one  day 
in  advance  and  distributed  among  the  members. 

FIFTH. — That  general  public  measures  should  be  referred 
before  passage  to  the  Commissioners  to  Revise  the  Statutes, 
to  report  upon  the  effect  of  such  measures  and  their  place 
in  the  body  of  the  statute  law. 

SIXTH. — That  committees  of  the  Legislature  should  be 
empowered  to  take  testimony. 

SEVENTH. — That  every  committee  should  be  required  to 
report  the  private  and  local  bills  which  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  it,  with  the  reasons  for  its  action,  within  a  certain 
number  of  days  after  the  bill  has  been  committed  to  its  care. 

EIGHTH. — That  some  of  the  Senate  Committees  should 
be  enlarged,  particularly  such  committees  as  have  imposed 
upon  them  the  most  onerous  duties  of  the  legislative  ses- 
sion, such  as  the  Committee  on  Cities,  the  Committee  on 
Finance,  the  Committee  on  Judiciary. 


11 

NiNtH. — That  a  proportionate  share  of  the  printing  ex- 
penses incident  to  a  legislative  session,  which  amounted, 
during  the  last  session,  to  the  sum  of  $200,000,  should  be 
borne  by  the  parties  interested  in  the  bills,  and  in  whose  in- 
terest and  at  whose  request  legislation  is  considered,  par- 
ticularly moneyed  corporations,  stock  corporations  or 
private  individuals. 

TENTH. — That  the  general  laws  should  be  completed  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  and  all  public  statutes  should  be  incor- 
porated into  them  or  into  one  of  the  Codes. 

ELEVENTH. — That  all  bills  amendatory  of  the  general 
laws,  or  of  the  Code,  should  refer  briefly  in  their  title  to 
the  general  subject  to  which  they  relate. 

TWELFTH. — That  all  amendments  to  City  Charters  or  to 
the  general  municipal  incorporation  laws  should  briefly 
state  in  the  title  the  subject  of  the  sections  of  the  Statute 
which  are  proposed  to  be  amended. 

THIRTEENTH.— That  with  reference  to  every  bill  affect- 
ing any  department  of  the  State  Government,  or  the  general 
administration  of  the  law  subject  to.  the  supervision  of  such 
department,  notice  thereof  shall  be  given  to  the  head  of  the 
department  having  the  administration  of  such  subject  under 
his  supervision,  and  an  opportunity  afforded  him  to  be 
heard  before  the  bill  is  reported  or  passed. 

Most  of  these  propositions  have  been  considered  in  other 
States  of  the  Union,  and  the  more  important  of  them  have 
been  adopted  in  some  of  those  States  and  work  well.  At- 
tention is  particularly  called  to  the  provision  relating  to  the 
giving  of  notice  of  intention  to  apply  for  the  passage  of 
special  and  local  bills,  and  also  to  the  requirements  that 
applicants  for  bills  shall  pay  the  expense  of  printing  the 
same,  and  that  committees  shall  report  within  a  certain 
time  upon  private  and  local  bills.  The  States  of  Rhode 
Island,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  North  Carolina,  Georgia, 


Florida,  Alabama,  Texas,  Arkansas  and  Louisiana  have 
constitutional  provisions  on  the  subject  of  publication  of 
notice  of  intention  to  apply  for  certain  bills  before  they  can 
be  considered  by  the  Legislature. 

The  provisions  of  the  Rhode  Island  Constitution  are  to 
be  found  in  Article  4,  Section  17,  and  Article  9,  Section  i, 
and  are  not  so  full  as  those  of  the  other  States. 

Pennsylvania,  by  Section  8,  Article  3  of  its  Constitution, 
provides  that  no  local  or  special  bill  shall  be  passed  unless 
notice  of  the  intention  to  apply  therefor  shall  have  been 
published  in  the  locality  where  the  matter  or  thing  to  be 
affected  may  be  situated,  'which  notice  shall  be  at  least 
thirty  days  prior  to  the  introduction  into  the  General 
Assembly  of  such  bill,  in  the  manner  to  be  provided  by 
law  ;  the  evidence  of  such  notice  having  been  published 
shall  be  exhibited  in  the  General  Assembly  before  such  act 
shall  be  passed. 

This  has  been  followed  by  an  act  substantially  incorpor- 
ating the  constitutional  provision  and  amplifying  it  for  the 
purpose  of  making  it  more  effectual.  Sections  30-34,  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Revised  Statutes  of  1874,  state  the  manner  in 
which  notice  shall  be  given.  The  notice  must  state  specifi- 
cally the  title  and  objects  of  the  bill,  and  be  published  once 
a  week  for  four  successive  weeks  in  two  newspapers,  one 
of  which  may  be  in  a  language  other  than  English,  printed 
in  the  county  or  counties  where  the  matter  or  thing  to  be 
affected  may  be  situated,  at  least  thirty  days  prior  to  and 
within  three  months  immediately  preceding  the  introduc- 
tion of  such  bill  into  the  Legislature,  and  be  signed  at  least 
by  one  of  the  parties. 

Although  other  States  have  embodied  either  in  their 
Constitutions,  or  by  statutory  enactments,  like  provis- 
ions to  those  of  Pennsylvania,  the  latter  State  affords  in  its 
characteristics  and  legislative  necessities,  a  closer  analogy 
to  the  State  of  New  York  than  any  of  its  sister  States,  with 
the  exception,  possibly,  of  Massachusetts.  It  contains  two 
large  cities  at  each  end  of  the  State — Philadelphia  and  Pitts- 
burg — bearing  close  analogy  to  New  York  and  Buffalo.  It 
has  a  large  number  of  second,  and  third  class  cities  within 


its  domains,  and  therefore  a  legislative  reform  which  has 
worked  well  in  that  State  cannot  but  prove  beneficial  in 
the  State  of  New  York.  Hence,  the  Commission  directed 
inquiries  to  be  made  of  public  men  and  leading  lawyers  of 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  received  from  them  the 
unanimous  assurance  that  the  requirement  of  timely  notice 
of  intended  legislation  and  of  the  publication  of  the  general 
purposes  of  the  bill,  in  advance  of  the  session  of  the  legis- 
lation or  the  consideration  of  the  measure,  has  prevented  a 
large  number  of  bills  from  coming  before  the  Legislature 
like  those  which  had  previously  encumbered  the  statute 
book  of  that  State ;  that  it  has  prevented  ill-considered 
measures,  diminished  the  evil  of  over  legislation,  and  that  it 
has  been  fruitful  of  unmixed  benefits  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Pennsylvania. 

New  Jersey,  by  Article  4,  Section  7,  Subdivision  9,  and 
North  Carolina,  by  Article  2,  Section  12,  of  their  Constitu- 
tions, have  substantially  the  same  provision  as  that  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Constitution,  without  stating  the  length  of 
the  notice  and  the  evidence  thereof,  which  are,  however, 
to  be  prescribed  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  in  those 
States. 

Missouri,  by  Article  54,  and  Louisiana,  by  Article  46,  of 
their  Constitutions,  have  the  same  provision  as  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Constitution,  with  the  addition  that  the  act  itself  shall 
recite  that  the  notice  has  been  given. 

Georgia,  by  Section  7,  Paragraph  16,  of  its  Constitution, 
follows  the  language  of  the  Pennsylvania  Constitution  on 
the  subject. 

Florida,  by  Article  3,  Section  21,  of  its  Constitution, 
has  the  same  provision  as  that  of  Pennsylvania,  except  that 
the  length  of  the  notice  is  sixty  days. 

Alabama,  by  Article  4,  Section  21,  of  its  Constitution, 
has  the  same  provision  as  that  of  Pennsylvania,  except  that 
the  notice  is  twenty  days,  and  limitation  is  made  as  to  the 
objects  to  which  the  act  shall  apply. 

Texas,  by  Article  3,  Section  57,  and  Arkansas,  by  Article 
5,  Section  26,  of  their  Constitutions,  have  the  same  provision 
as  the  Pennsylvania  Constitution. 

In  nearly  all  of  the  States  above  mentioned  the  Legisla- 


14 

ture  has  passed  statutes  to  conform  to  the  constitutional 
provisions. 

In  Massachusetts  there  is  no  constitutional  provision  on 
the  subject,  but  the  legislative  body  of  that  State  dealt  with 
the  subject  by  Chapter  24,  Laws  of  1885,  as  amended  by 
Chapter  302,  Laws  of  1890,  which  provides  for  the  publica- 
tion of  notice  once  a  week  for  three  consecutive  weeks,  at 
least  fourteen  days  before  the  session  at  which  the  petition 
for  the  bill  is  presented,  and  the  petition  and  proof  of  pub- 
lication must  be  transmitted  to  the  Legislature  during  the 
first  week  of  the  session,  with  the  endorsement  that  the  re- 
quired notice  has  been  given. 

The  Legislatures  of  the  various  States  above  referred  to 
have  also  adopted  legislative  rules  on  the  subject,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  constitutional  and  statutory  provisions 
of  their  States. 

Virginia  has  also,  by  its  House  Rules  80  and  81,  pro- 
vided that  if  the  petition  or  memorial  relate  to  a  special 
local  interest,  or  private  law  or  interest,  it  shall  appear  that 
the  parties  to  be  affected  have  had  notice  at  least  equal  to 
that  required  by  law  in  regard  to  the  matters  to  be  trans- 
acted in  a  court  of  justice. 

Maine  and  Vermont  have  also  in  their  legislative  rules 
provided  for  the  giving  of  like  notice. 

Although  there  are  inadequate  and  meagre  provisions  as 
to  notice  in  Title  3,  Chapter  7  of  the  New  York  Revised 
Statutes  (i  R.  L.,  268,  Chap.  121,  Laws  of  1818),  those  pro- 
visions have  fallen  into  disuse,  and  have  been  generally  dis- 
regarded. 

Assembly  Rule  15  of  this  State  provides  that  "  no 
bill  affecting  the  rights  of  individuals  or  of  private 
or  municipal  corporations,  otherwise  than  as  it  affects 
generally  the  people  of  the  whole  State,  shall  be  re- 
ported by  a  committee  unless  it  is  made  to  appear  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  committee  that  notice  has  been  given 
by  public  advertisement,  or  otherwise,  to  all  parties  inter- 
ested, without  expense  to  the  State.  In  case  the  bill  affects 
the  rights  of  a  municipal  corporation,  such  notice  shall  be 
given  to  the  Mayor  in  cities  and  to  the  President  ol  the 
Board  of  Trustees  in  villages."  This  rule  is  scarcely  ever 


15 

observed,  but  both  the  law  and  rule  are  a  recognition  that 
notice  of  some  kind  is  essential  to  good  legislation.  No  re- 
quirement to  secure  adequate  notice,  nor  for  the  publica- 
tion of  the  intention  to  apply,  is  embodied  in  the  rule,  and  if 
legislation  is  effected  without  the  required  notice,  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  there  is  any  impairment  of  validity  by 
reason  of  the  absence  of  such  notice.  The  undersigned 
Commissioners  have,  therefore,  drawn  a  bill  which  pro- 
vides, with  great  precision  and  stringency,  for  such  notice 
and  the  filing  of  bills  considerably  in  advance  of  their  con- 
sideration. In  addition  to  this  bill,  the  Commission  recom- 
mends that  a  constitutional  amendment  on  the  subject, 
similar  to  the  provision  in  the  Pennsylvania  Constitution, 
be  adopted  in  this  State,  so  as  to  carry  out  adequately  this 
proposed  reform. 

It  also  seems  to  the  Commission  that  a  long  step  in  the 
right  direction  would  be  taken  if  bills,  before  their  third 
reading  and  while  yet  capable  of  amendment,  could  be  sub- 
mitted tor  scrutiny  and  revision  to  one  or  more  trained 
lawyers,  whose  only  client  in  the  matter  would  be  the  State, 
and  for  whose  conclusions,  if  satisfactory,  a  carefully  se- 
lected committee  of  the  best  men  in  either  House  would 
become  responsible  to  that  body. 

It  seemed  to  the  Commission  that  the  best  method  of 
securing  competent  persons  to  perform  the  duties  of  coun- 
sel would  be  to  leave  their  selection  to  a  Board  con- 
sisting of  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Speaker, 
as  the  responsibility  for  an  improper  or  incompetent 
appointment  could  then  be  easily  located,  while  the  im- 
portance of  creditable  selections  would  doubtless  be  cor- 
respondingly appreciated.  It  would  seem,  too,  that  public 
opinion  would  enforce  in  such  case  permanency  .of  tenure 
in  actual  practice,  while  leaving  the  power  of  change  where 
it  could  be  exercised,  if  desirable,  without  producing  friction. 

This  part  of  the  system  of  improved  legislative  methods 
which  the  undersigned  have  decided  to  recommend  has  al- 
ready substantial  recognition  in  legislative  procedure,  in  the 
form  of  the  Committee  on  Revision,  of  the  Assembly.  By 
Rule  16  of  that  body,  this  committee  is  charged  with  the 
duty  of  examining  and  correcting  all  bills  prior  to  their  third 


1C 

reading,  "  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  repetitions  and  uncon- 
stitutional provisions,  insuring  accuracy  in  the  text  and  refer- 
ences, and  consistency  with  the  language  of  the  existing 
statutes."  It  is  also  to  "  report  whether  the  object  sought 
to  be  accomplished  can  be  secured  without  a  special  act, 
under  existing  laws,  or  without  detriment  to  the  public  in- 
terests, by  the  enactment  of  a  general  law."  Alterations  in 
sense  or  legal  effect  and  material  changes  in  construction 
are  guarded  by  the  provision  that  they  shall  be  reported 
as  recommendations,  and  not  as  amendments. 

It  is  the  testimony  of  those  familiar  with  the  facts  that 
some  good  has  been  accomplished  by  this  Committee  since 
1890,  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  present  rule,  but  that 
much  more  might  have  been  done  with  counsel  of  experi- 
ence and  ability,  and  by  enlarging  the  duties  of  the  House 
Committee  and  equipping  the  legislative  machinery  of  the 
Senate  with  a  like  committee,  equally  provided  with  proper 
counsel. 

The  undersigned  Commissioners  have,  therefore,  de- 
termined to  advise  the  amendment  of  the  legislative  law 
so  as  to  make  statutory  provision  for  Committees  on  Revision 
in  each  House,  with  counsel  therefor,  who  shall  be  lawyers 
of  experience,  and  receive  sufficient  compensation  to  secure 
the  adequate  talent. 

It  is  true  that,  to  some  extent,  in  1895  the  Legislature 
charged  the  Commissioners  of  Statutory  Revision  with 
certain  duties,  which  would  ordinarily  be  performed  by 
legislative  counsel,  and  such  duties  have  ever  since  been 
discharged  by  those  Commissioners  during  the  session.  It 
is  not  intended  to  repeal  this  provision,  but  to  enlarge  it. 
The  urgent  necessity  for  the  completion  of  the  general 
laws,  which  is  the  specific  purpose  for  which  the  Com- 
mission was  instituted,  has  already  been  shown,  and  to  that 
burden  is  likely  to  be  added  the  herculean  task  of  a 
scientific  revision  of  the  Code  of  Civil  Procedure.  These 
labors  alone  must  occupy  several  years.  If  the  Com- 
mission of  Statutory  Revision  is  to  be,  in  addition, 
the  only  legal  adviser  of  the  Legislature  during  many 
months  of  each  year,  the  reduction  of  the  general  statute 
law  to  anything  like  system,  must  be  considered  as  indef- 


initely  postponed.  Besides,  the  great  majority  of  bills  do 
not  reach  the  Commissioners  for  examination  until  they 
have  passed  both  Houses.  To  render  revisory  powers  of 
any  considerable  value  they  must  be  exercised  before  third 
reading.  Any  other  course  would  be  of  little  use,  so  far,  at 
least,  as  concerns  "  thirty-day  "  bills. 

The  23d  joint  rule,  as  printed  in  the  Legislative  Manual, 
requires  that  some  brief  reference  to  the  subject  matter 
shall  be  incorporated  into  the  titles  of  all  bills  amending 
either  the  Revised  Statutes,  the  Codes  or  the  Consolidation 
Acts  of  New  York  City  and  Brooklyn.  A  similar  provision 
exists  in  the  rules  of  many  States.  Whenever  complied  with, 
this  provision  has  been  found  beneficial  as  providing,  to 
some  slight  extent  at  least,  a  barrier  against  surreptitious 
changes  in  existing  law.  As  matter  of  fact,  however,  the 
joint  rules  have  not  been  in  force  for  several  years,  and 
when  they  are  adopted  are  not  considered  as  having  the 
binding  sanction  of  a  statute,  which  is  at  any  rate  obli- 
gatory on  each  House  taken  separately.  The  Commission, 
therefore,  reports  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  legislative 
law  containing  the  substance  of  the  joint  rule  referred  to, 
adding  to  the  statutes  therein  enumerated  the  General 
Laws  and  the  charters  of  all  municipal  corporations. 

The  requirement  that  legislative  committees  shall  report 
certain  classes  of  bills  within  a  certain  time  cannot  but 
prove  to  be  a  very  desirable  one  to  be  adoped  in  this 
State,  in  such  form  as  to  impose  an  obligation  on  the 
Legislature  to  comply  therewith.  Assembly  Rule  15  was 
intended  to  cover  this  subject  by  providing  that  it  shall  be 
the  duty  of  each  of  the  several  committees  to  consider  and 
report  without  unnecessary  delay  upon  the  respective  bills 
and  other  matters  referred  to  it  by  the  House.  Assembly 
Rule  60  also  requires  a  report  on  all  bills  before  a  certain 
time.  These  provisions,  however,  as  remarked,- are  not 
complied  with. 

In  Vermont,  Delaware  and  Iowa,  as  well  as  in  Congress, 
the  rules  of  the  Legislature  require  a  report  within  a  cer- 
tain time.  In  Vermont  the  time  is  15  days  after  commit- 
ment; in  Delaware,  $  days;  in  Iowa,  lodays. 


18 

The  requirement  that  private  bills  shall  be  printed  at  the 
expense  of  the  applicants  would  be  a  very  salutory  one  if 
adopted  in  enforceable  form.  Connecticut,  by  Joint  Rule 
12,  has  such  a  requirement,  as  also  New  Jersey  by  As- 
sembly Rule  49.  In  Rhode  Island,  Senate  Rule  34  and 
Assembly  Rule  38  require  a  presentation  of  copies  of  the 
bill  to  the  Clerk  for  distribution. 

The  Commissioners  have  considered,  only  to  dismiss, 
the  suggestion  that  any  relief  from  over-legislation  and 
careless  law-making  is  to  be  found  in  biennial  sessions  of  our 
legislative  bodies.  It  is  obvious  that  when  it  is  impossible 
under  the  existing  system  to  secure,  even  with  annual  ses- 
sions, the  time  necessary  for  careful,  deliberate  and  pains- 
taking work,  and  when  the  pressure  for  legislation,  even 
with  annual  sessions,  is  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  Legis- 
lature to  deal  with  it  adequately,  such  pressure  and  the 
number  of  bills  would  manifestly  be  largely  increased  by 
biennial  sessions,  with  a  consequent  decrease  in  the  possi- 
bility of  passing  carefully  and  deliberately  considered  stat- 
utory enactments.  The  undersigned  Commissioners  have, 
therefore,  determined  from  the  outset  to  see  whether  the 
methods  of  legislation  could  be  improved,  instead  of  seeking 
for  a  remedy  in  a  less  frequent  meeting  of  the  legislative 
body. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Hon.  Richard  Olney,  Secretary 
of  State  of  the  United  States,  moved  by  the  request  of  one 
of  the  Commissioners,  the  undersigned  have  been  supplied 
with  documents  and  answers  to  a  set  of  interrogatories  put, 
through  the  State  Department,  to  the  various  members  of 
the  diplomatic  corps  representing  the  United  States  abroad, 
on  the  legislative  methods  adopted  in  the  countries  to 
which  they  were  respectively  accredited.  The  answers 
to  these  questions  were  promptly  made,  and  by  this  light 
the  Commission  was  enabled  to  examine  the  rules  of 
legislative  procedure  of  the  various  civilized  nations 
whose  laws  are  enacted  by  representative  bodies.  From 
them  it  appears  that  England  has  the  most  developed  and 
systematic  course  of  procedure  for  the  enactment  of  meas- 
ures into  laws,  and  withal  the  most  carefully  guarded 


19 

methods  of  preventing  ill-considered  ana  slipshod  legis- 
lation. 

Public  bills  in  England  are  separated  from  private 
bills  by  a  clear  line  of  cleavage.  There  is  ministerial 
responsibility  for  one  set  of  public  measures,  and  individual 
and  local  responsibility  for  the  other  set.  So  as  to  have 
the  ministerial  responsibility  clearly  attach,  a  public  meas- 
ure which  passes  through  Parliament  is  either  proposed  or 
adopted  by  the  ministry,  and  the  measure,  after  it  has  been 
subjected  to  amendment,  is  redrafted  by  parliamentary 
draughtsmen  in  the  constant  and  steady  employ  of  the 
Government.  Usually  some  lawyer  of  distinction  is  at  the 
head  of  this  corps  of  draughtsmen,  who  obtains  a  salary 
almost  equal  to  that  of  a  judge  of  a  court  of  record  and  has 
a  permanent  tenure  of  his  position. 

Private  and  local  bills,  under  what  are  known  as  standing 
orders  which  have  been  developed  into  a  perfect  system 
since  1845,  are  no  longer  treated  as  legislation,  strictly 
speaking,  but  as  petitions  to  Parliament  for  special  immun- 
ity or  privileges,  which  are  conducted  by  private  parties 
or  interests  subject  to  a  strict  rule  of  procedure.  Such 
bills  are  tried  as  a  lawsuit  is,  the  petition  and  bill  being 
filed  before  the  beginning  of  the  parliamentary  session  and 
usually  opposed  at  every  step  as  a  whole  or  in  detail — if  a 
railway  or  canal  act,  by  the  Board  of  Trade — and  also  by 
every  private  interest  which  may  be  menaced  or  affected 
thereby.  Counter-petitions,  attorneys,  counsel  and  a  trial, 
a  standing  and  a  day  in  court  to  all  parties  in  interest 
before  the  bill  can  become  a  law,  prevent  wrong  to  indi- 
viduals and  localities.  Counsel  for  the  ministry  for  the 
public  bills,  and  special  counsel  for  the  private  bills,  trained 
specialists  to  aid  committees  in  the  intelligent  discharge  of 
their  work,  prevent  the  possibility  of  working  by  collusion 
a  public  wrong. 

By  virtue  of  this  system  of  standing  orders,  no  private  or 
local  bill  is  considered  by  Parliament  unless  deposited  in 
the  private  bills  office  sixty  days  in  advance  of  the  session. 
If  it  be  a  railway  or  canal  project,  a  deposit  of  five  per  cent, 
of  the  estimated  cost  of  construction  must  be  made  at  the 


20 

time  of  the  filing  of  the  bill.  If  it  involve  the  exercise  of  the 
right  of  eminent  domain,  evidence  must  be  given  that 
notice  of  intention  to  file  the  bill  has  been  served  on  all  the 
persons  whose  interests  are  likely  to  be  affected  adversely 
by  legislation.  Accompanying  these  documents,  as  to  the 
contents  of  which  the  most  precise  instructions  are  given 
in  the  rules,  there  must  also  be  deposited  a  sum  of  money 
to  cover  the  expenses  of  preliminary  examinations  of  the 
bill,  in  order  to  ascertain,  officially,  whether  the  standing 
orders  have  been  complied  with. 

The  opponents  of  the  bill  have  until  fifteen  days  before 
the  opening  of  the  session  of  Parliament  to  file  their  objec- 
tions to  the  bill,  and  to  point  out  wherein  the  standing 
orders  have  not  been  complied  with  by  the  petitioners. 
If,  either  by  the  unaided  investigations  of  the  official 
examiners,  or  at  the  suggestion  of  adversaries,  it 
become  apparent  that  the  promoters  have  failed 
to  give  the  requisite  notice  by  advertisement  in  the  public 
gazettes,  and  by  personal  service,  or  that  the  map  is  not  in 
conformity  with  the  bill,  or  that  in  any  other  particulars 
they  have  failed  to  comply  with  the  standing  orders,  the 
bill  is  endorsed  "standing  orders  not  complied  with,"  and 
Parliament  is  relieved  from  its  consideration  during  that 
session.  If  there  be  a  question  whether  the  standing  orders 
have  been  complied  with,  the  parliamentary  agent  is  heard 
upon  the  subject.  If  he  can  explain  a  seeming  neglect,  the 
examiners  may  allow  the  bill  to  be  entertained,  but  no  sub- 
stantial deviation  from  the  rules  is  tolerated,  and  non-com- 
pliance means  non-consideration.  If  the  bill  is  entertained, 
a  further  payment  is  to  be  made  by  the  promoters  to  pay 
its  way  during  its  consideration  in  Committee.  Each  one 
of  these  payments  is  about  £50.  Bills  are  then  separated 
by  the  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  and 
the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords. 
Those  that  involve  railway  or  canal  projects  or  the 
exercise  of  the  right  of  eminent  domain,  are  referred  for 
special  scrutiny  to  the  Board  of  Trade.  All  are  examined 
by  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords, 
who  makes  his  suggestions  and  amendments,  which  are 


21 

generally  accepted  by  the  parliamentary  agents,  who  are 
the  attorneys  for  the  promoters  of  private  and  local  bills  in 
riling  the  same  and  conducting  them  until  the  Par- 
liamentary Committees  come  to  consider  the  bills  in 
open  session.  The  bills  are  then  referred  for  trial. 
The  Trial  Committees  are  composed  of  chairmen,  who  are 
members  of  Parliament,  one  or  two  additional  members, 
and  several  experts,  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  techni- 
cal elements  of  the  subject  matter  of  the  bills  and  who  need 
not  be  members  of  Parliament.  A  calendar,  analogous  in 
character  to  calendars  of  trial  causes  in  a  court  of  justice, 
is  then  prepared  containing  a  list  of  the  bills,  and  a  trial  is 
had  in  which  the  petitioners  for,  as  well  as  the  adversaries 
of,  the  bill  are  represented  by  counsel.  The  question  of 
the  expediency  of  the  passage  of  the  measure  is  determined 
first,  as  a  whole,  on  the  preamble,  and  then  by  sections,  and 
every  injury,  direct  or  indirect,  is  presented  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Committee,  to  be  avoided  if  possible,  by 
amendments  to  clauses  of  the  bill,  or  by  the  awarding  of 
proper  compensation.  The  adversary  who,  in  the  defense 
of  a  property  right,  succeeds  in  securing  by  amendment  the 
insertion  of  a  clause  which,  in  all  fairness,  should,  for  his 
protection,  have  originally  been  inserted  in  the  draft  de- 
posited by  the  promoters  of  the  bill,  mulcts  the  latter  to 
pay  the  contestant's  costs.  If  the  Committee  determine  in 
favor  of  the  bill,  they  so  report,  together  with  their  amend- 
ments, to  the  House,  and  with  but  very  rare  exceptions  the 
House  regards  the  finding  of  a  committee  on  a  private 
or  local  bill  as  final.  This  method  of  ascertaining  the 
merits  of  a  measure  is  so  complete,  the  examination 
of  witnesses  and  experts  is  so  thorough,  every  element 
that  can  enlighten  the  mind  of  the  legislator  has 
been  brought  to  bear  with  so  much  accuracy  and 
forensic  skill,  that  the  margin  of  human  error,  after  such  a 
trial,  is  very  small.  The  amount  paid  to  Parliament  for 
considering  a  private  or  a  local  measure  is,  on  the  average, 
one  thousand  dollars  a  bill.  By  these  payments,  which  are 
somewhat  in  excess  of  the  cost  of  the  service  of  examina- 
tion, the  expense  of  private  legislation  is  not  only  avoided 


22 

to  the  English  Parliament,  but  even  the  expense  of  public 
legislation  is  defrayed. 

Other  European  nations  have  either  adopted  this  system 
in  part  only,  or  are  exempted,  by  their  constitutional 
organization,  from  the  necessity  of  adopting  a  system  of  this 
character.  In  France  and  in  Prussia  the  statutory  law 
occupies  itself  with  general  laws  only.  In  France  these 
are  submitted  before  enactment  to  a  Council  of  State,  com- 
posed of  leading  lawyers  and  publicists  for  revision.  The 
functions  which  here  are  performed  by  private  or  special 
and  local  laws  are  in  Prussia  and  France  accomplished  by 
ministerial  rescripts,  and  are  part  of  the  executive  duties  of 
the  State. 

So  elaborate  a  system  as  that  which  England  has  devel- 
oped to  guard  its  legislation  from  becoming  mischievous  to 
the  community  it  would  not  be  practicable  to  recommend 
for  adoption  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Progress  must 
be  taken  cautiously  in  that  direction,  and  such  steps  in  legis- 
lative reform  must  be  taken  from  the  experience  of  sister 
American  Commonwealths  rather  than  from  a  highly  de- 
veloped form  of  European  procedure,  making  advances 
beyond  such  experience  only  when  the  greater  pressure  of 
business  upon  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York,  as 
compared  with  the  legislative  bodies  of  other  States,  im- 
peratively demands  a  treatment  differing  from  their  own. 

Therefore,  whilst  recognizing  the  great  superiority  of 
the  English  system  over  those  which  are  in  vogue  in 
American  Commonwealths,  the  Commission  also  recognizes 
that  changes  even  of  a  beneficial  character  cannot  be  made 
in  a  revolutionary  spirit,  but  must  be  gradual  in  their 
adoption,  to  secure  permanence,  and  be  in  conformity  with 
the  spirit  and  habits  of  the  people  adopting  them. 

The  developed  system  of  legislative  methods,  as  it  is 
now  to  be  found  in  England,  has  been  the  growth  of  fifty 
years  of  active,  persistent  and  intelligent  co-operation  on 
the  part  of  its  statesmen,  of  all  shades  of  political  opinion. 

As  the  work  of  such  revision  of  legislative  methods  has 
been  commenced  here  by  the  passage  of  the  Act  creating 
this  Commission,  it  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  take  a  very  much 


23 

less  number  of  years  than  the  half  century  which  was  re- 
quired for  the  development  of  the  procedure  of  Great 
Britain's  law-making  instrumentality,  to  secure,  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  the  adoption  of  as  beneficial  and  complete  a 
system  of  legislative  reform  as  has  been  established  by  the 
elder  branch  of  English  speaking  Commonwealths. 


Accompanying  this  report  are  additions  to  the  sections  of 
the  Legislative  Law,  embodying  the  recommendations  of 
the  Commission. 

The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  rules  of  the 
Senate  and  Assembly  should  provide  that  all  bills  of  a  pri- 
vate or  local  nature  shall  be  on  a  calendar  known  as  the 
Private  and  Local  Calendar,  and  that  all  bills  relating  to 
cities  shall  be  on  a  calendar  known  as  the  Cities  Calendar, 
and  that  all  other  bills  shall  be  placed  on  a  calendar  known 
as  the  General  Calendar;  that  all  calendars  of  bills  shall  be 
printed,  and  on  the  desks  of  the  members  twenty-four 
hours  prior  to  their  consideration,  and  that  certain  days 
shall  be  set  apart  for  the  consideration  of  the  various  calen- 
dars as  above  subdivided.  But  the  Commission  has  not 
assumed  to  formulate  rules  upon  these  or  other  similar 
subjects,  leaving  that  matter  for  the  action  of  the  two 
Houses  of  the  Legislature. 

Dated,  November  30,  1895. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

CHARLES  T.  SAXTON, 
DANFORTH  E.  AINSWORTH, 
JOHN  J.  LINSON, 
JOHN  S.  KENYON, 
SIMON  STERNE, 

Commissioners. 


AN   ACT 

To  AMEND  ARTICLE  2  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  LAW,  RELATING 
TO  LEGISLATIVE  PROCEDURE. 


The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate 
and  Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

SECTION  i.  The  Legislative  Law  is  hereby  amended  by 
adding  to  Article  2  thereof  the  following  sections : 

Section  50.  Filing  of  and  petition  for  local  bills.  Neither 
the  Senate  nor  the  Assembly  shall  consider  any  bill  of  a  local 
character  unless  the  same  has  been  filed  with  the  Secretary 
of  State  thirty  days  before  its  introduction.  Every  such 
bill  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  petition  signed  by  the  pro- 
moters thereof,  whose  post  office  address  shall  be  given 
after  their  signatures,  and  who,  in  the  case  of  a  local  bill, 
shall  not  be  less  than  in  number.  Such 

petition  shall  contain  a  brief  statement  of  the  objects  to  be 
attained  by  the  bill,  a  synopsis  of  its  main  provisions,  a 
reference  to  the  general  laws  applicable  thereto,  if  any,  and 
the  reasons  why  a  special  law  is  required.  Such  petition 
shall  also  contain  a  general  statement  of  the  interests  which 
will  be  affected  thereby,  both  adversely  and  beneficially. 
The  filing  of  such  petition  shall  be  deemed  an  application 
to  the  Legislature  for  such  bill. 

Every  private  bill,  other  than  a  local  bill,  shall  fulfill  all 
the  requirements  of  the  foregoing  provision,  except  that  it 
may  be  signed  by  a  single  promoter  instead  of 
promoters. 

Section  51.  Notice  of  Filing.  The  title,  file  number,  date 
of  filing  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  a  general 
synopsis  of  a  local  bill  affecting  a  city  of  the  first  class,  or 
any  subdivision  or  part  of  such  city,  shall  be  published, 
together  with  the  names  and  post  office  addresses  of  the 
promoter  or  promoters  thereof,  at  least  three  times  a  week 
for  two  successive  weeks  (the  last  publication  to  be  within 


26 

one  week  before  such  bill  is  introduced)  in  two  daily  news- 
papers published  in  such  city  of  the  first  class,  which  two 
newspapers  shall  be  designated  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

If  a  local  bill  affects  a  city  of  the  second  or  third  class, 
or  any  subdivision  or  part  thereof,  all  the  requirements 
in  this  section  provided  for  as  to  a  bill  affecting  a  city  of 
the  first  class  shall  be  complied  with,  except  that  the  pub- 
lication need  be  made  but  twice  a  week  for  two  successive 
weeks  between  the  date  of  the  filing  and  the  date  of  the 
introduction  of  the  bill.  Such  publication  shall  be  made 
not  less  than  one  nor  more  than  three  weeks  before  such 
introduction.  Such  publication  in  cities  of  the  second  and 
third  classes  shall  be  in  newspapers  designated  by  the 
Secretary  of  State. 

If  a  local  bill  affects  a  county,  town,  village,  or  any  other 
place  in  the  State,  or  any  subdivision  or  part  thereof,  the 
Secretary  of  State,  when  the  same  is  filed,  shall  designate 
one  newspaper  in  such  county,  town,  village  or  place, 
wherein  shall  be  published,  at  least  once  a  week  for  two 
successive  weeks  within  the  month  intervening  between  the 
filing  and  the  introduction  of  said  bill,  a  notice  containing 
a  like  statement  to  that  which  is  required  by  the  foregoing 
provisions  of  this  section  as  to  bills  affecting  a  city  of  the 
first,  second  or  third  class,  or  subdivision  or  part  thereof. 

As  to  any  private  bill,  the  notice  of  the  application  there- 
for shall  be  published  in  two  newspapers  in  the  city  or 
county  affected,  or  in  which  the  parties  applying  for  the 
same  reside,  or  where  the  matter  or  thing  to  be  affected  is 
located.  One  of  such  newspapers  shall  be  designated  by 
the  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  other  shall  be  a  newspaper 
of  general  circulation  in  such  locality.  Such  notice  shall 
contain  a  like  statement  to  that  which  is  required  by  the 
foregoing  provision  of  this  section  as  to  a  local  bill,  and 
shall  be  published  at  least  twice  a  week  for  two  successive 
weeks,  within  the  month  intervening  between  the  filing 
and  the  introduction  of  said  bill. 

Every  bill  which  confers  corporate  powers,  or  amends, 
enlarges,  or  restricts  any  corporate  powers  heretofore 
conferred  by  any  special,  private  or  general  law,  except 


2? 

bills  amending  the  general  law  submitted  by  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Statutory  Revision,  shall,  in  regard  to  the  filing, 
notice  and  publication  thereof  required  by  this  section,  be 
deemed  a  private  bill. 

In  the  case  of  any  bill  relating  to  street  railways,  elevated 
railroads,  canal  service,  telephone  service,  telegraph  service, 
waterworks,  gas  companies,  electric,  steam,  lighting  or 
power  service,  or  tunneling,  or  any  service  requiring  work 
under,  over,  or  on  the  surface  of  the  street,  the  notice 
required  shall,  in  a  city  of  the  first  class,  be  published 
in  two  daily  newspapers  designated  by  the  Secretary  of 
State  at  least  three  times  a  \veek  for  three  successive 
weeks,  and  in  a  city  in  the  second  and  third  class,  in  one 
daily  newspaper  designated  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  at 
least  three  times  a  week  for  two  successive  weeks,  immedi- 
ately prior  to  the  introduction  of  such  bill,  the  last  publica- 
tion to  be  within  one  week  before  such  bill  is  introduced  ; 
in  towns  and  villages,  such  notice  shall  be  published  in  a 
newspaper,  to  be  designated  by  the  Secretary  of  State, 
published  in  such  town  or  village,  or  if  no  newspaper  is 
published  therein,  then  in  a  newspaper  published  in  a  town 
or  village  nearest  thereto,  at  least  once  a  week  for  three 
successive  weeks,  immediately  prior  to  the  introduction  of 
such  bill. 

If  such  bill  authorizes  the  construction  of  any  work,  or 
the  supplying  of  any  service,  such  as  electricity,  heating, 
lighting,  gas,  water,  transportation  or  transit  of  passengers 
or  goods,  or  both,  or  power  for  domestic  or  manufacturing 
purposes,  or  any  other  work  which  affects  a  larger  locality 
than  a  county,  city  or  town,  the  publication  and  notice 
hereinbefore  provided  for  shall  be  made  and  given  in  each 
locality  to  be  affected  by  such  work  or  service,  in  the  same 
manner  as  though  separate  bills  affecting  each  particular 
locality  had  been  introduced. 

Before  such  bill  is  introduced,  direct  notice  shall,  in  the 
manner  provided  by  law  for  the  service  of  a  summons,  be 
given  to  every  corporation  or  person  engaged  in  the  same 
business  within  the  territory  affected  by  the  provisions  of 
the  bill. 


28 

Before  such  bill  is  introduced,  evidence  by  affidavit  of  the 
service  and  the  publication  of  such  notice  must  be  filed  with 
the  Secretary  of  State.  The  affidavit  of  publication  must 
be  made  by  the  owner,  publisher,  foreman  or  editor  of  the 
newspaper  in  which  such  notice  is  required  to  be  published, 
and  must  be  attached  to  a  copy  of  the  bill. 

Section  52.  Printing  Private  and  Local  Bills.  All  bills 
for  the  amendment  or  alteration  of  local,  special  or  pri- 
vate acts,  and  all  private  or  local  bills  of  whatever  nature 
shall,  before  the  same  are  considered,  be  printed  for  the 
use  of  the  Legislature,  at  the  expense  of  the  party  ap- 
plying therefor.  Such  printing,  at  the  expense  of  the 
promoter  or  promoters  of  any  such  bills,  shall  be  done  by 
the  Legislative  Printer,  under  the  existing  provisions  of 
law,  and  the  amount  of  such  expense  shall  be  certified  to 
the  Secretary  of  State,  and  be  audited  by  the  Comptroller, 
and  before  the  introduction  of  such  bill  the  expense  of 
printing  the  same  shall  be  paid  by  the  promoters  thereof  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  in  conformity  with  such  audit  of  the 
Comptroller. 

Sufficient  copies  of  such  local  or  private  bill,  not  exceed- 
ing 500  in  number,  shall  be  printed  by  the  Secretary  ol 
State,  at  the  expense  of  the  promoter  or  promoters  thereof, 
in  order  that  such  copies  may  be  furnished,  without  expense, 
to  any  one  asking  therefor. 

The  promoter  or  promoters  of  a  private  or  special  bill 
affecting  moneyed  corporations,  stock  corporations  or  indi- 
viduals, shall  pay  all  bills  incurred  by  the  State  for  the 
printing  and  reprinting  of  such  bills  for  the  use  of  the 
Legislature,  and  such  payment  shall  be  made  by  such  pro- 
moter or  promoters  before  the  same  shall  be  certified  to 
the  Governor  for  his  signature,  and  the  certificate  that  the 
expense  of  such  printing  has  been  paid  shall  be  made  by 
the  Secretary  of  State  to  the  Governor,  and  accompany 
such  bill. 

Section  53.  Answer  to  Petition.  An  answer  to  the  petition 
accompanying  a  private  or  local  bill  may  be  made  by  any 


29 

person  or  persons  opposing-  the  same,  who  shall  sign  such 
answer,  and  also  state  therein  their  post  office  addresses ; 
such  answer  shall  contain  a  succinct  statement  of  the  reasons 
why  said  bill  or  any  of  the  provisions  thereof  should  not 
become  law,  and  shall,  together  with  the  petition  for  such 
bill,  be  printed,  and  accompany  the  bill  through  all  its  legis- 
lative stages.  The  expense  of  printing  such  answer  and  ac- 
companying documents,  if  any,  shall  be  borne  by  the  answer- 
ing person  or  persons, "and  the  expense  of  printing  the  same 
shall  be  certified  by  the  Comptroller  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 
and  the  amount  thereof  paid  to  the  Secretary  of  State  by 
the  answering  person  or  persons ;  and  unless  such  expense 
is  so  paid  by  them  said  answer  need  not  accompany  the 
said  petition  and  bill.  Such  answer  and  accompanying  doc- 
uments, if  any,  shall  be  printed  as  nearly  as  possible  in 
uniform  style  with  the  petition. 

Such  answer  may  be  filed  at  any  time  before  the  bill  is 
called  for  hearing  by  a  committee  of  the  Legislature. 
After  such  answer  is  filed  and  the  expense  of  printing  the 
same  has  been  duly  paid  as  hereinbefore  provided,  the 
same  shall  accompany  the  said  bill  and  the  petition  therefor 
through  all  the  legislative  stages  of  such  bill. 

Section  54.  Counsel.  Report  of  Committees.  Power  of  Com- 
mittees. A  petition  or  answer  in  addition  to  being  signed 
as  hereinbefore  provided,  may  be  signed  by  counsel,  to 
whom,  together  with  the  promoters  and  opponents  of  such 
private  or  local  bill,  the  Clerk  of  the  Committee  to  which 
such  bill  is  referred  shall  send  due  notice  by  mail  of  the 
time  fixed  for  the  hearing  of  every  such  bill.  Such  notice 
shall  be  given  not  less  than  three  days  prior  to  such  hear- 
ing. 

Every  Committee  to  which  such  bill  is  referred  shall  fix  a 
day  for  the  hearing  of  such  a  bill,  and  shall  report  thereon 
prior  to  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature  and  within 
thirty  days  after  its  reference.  Every  such  Committee 
shall  have  power  to  take  testimony  of  witnesses  under  oath, 
and  to  compel  the  attendance  of  such  witnesses,  and  all 
the  provisions  of  law  in  reference  to  the  punishment 


30 

of  witnesses  for  non-attendance  and  the  giving  of  false 
testimony  shall  be  applicable  to  the  witnesses  giving 
testimony  before  such  Committee.  Such  Committee 
shall  also  have  the  power,  on  notice  of  at  least  five  days, 
to  compel  the  production  of  such  books  and  papers  as  in 
their  discretion  they  see  fit  to  ask  for.  The  signature  of 
the  Chairman  of  the  said  Committee  to  a  subpoena  duces 
tecum,  or  to  an  ordinary  subpoena,  shall,  as  to  any  inquiry 
before  such  Committee,  have  the  same  force  and  effect  as 
though  the  same  had  been  issued  by  a  court  of  record. 

Section  55.  Urgency.  If  in  the  opinion  of  the  Governor 
any  local  or  private  bill,  except  such  as  creates?  enlarges  or 
amends  the  powers  of  railroad,  telegraph,  telephone,  sub- 
way, electrical,  heating,  lighting,  steam  or  gas  com- 
panies, or  any  form  of  power  companies,  or  tunnel 
companies,  or  companies  performing  any  other  communal 
service  which  involves  the  occupation  of  a  public  highway, 
street,  avenue  or  other  public  place,  or  which  involves  the 
going  under  or  over  or  on  any  such  public  street,  highway 
or  public  place,  shall,  in  the  public  interest,  require  urgency 
for  the  consideration  thereof,  the  Governor  may  attach  to 
such  bill  his  opinion,  duly  signed  by  him,  to  the  effect  that 
such  bill  should  be  promptly  .considered  in  the  interest  of 
the  public,  and  that  the  promoters  of  such  bill  have  ren- 
dered to  him  a  satisfactory  excuse  for  non-compliance  with 
that  part  of  Sections  50,  5 1  and  52  of  this  act  relating  to  filing 
of  proposed  bills  with  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  notice  and 
publication  thereof,  or  that  an  exigency  has  arisen  which 
makes  compliance  therewith  impracticable ;  and  thereupon 
such  bill  may  be  considered  by  the  Legislature  as  though 
the  provisions  of  Sections  50,51  and  52,  requiring  notice 
and  publication,  had  been  complied  with.  Such  a  bill  may 
thenceforth  be  opposed  and  answers  thereto  interposed, 
which  answers  shall  accompany  such  bill  as  though  the  same 
had  been  duly  filed,  and  all  other  provisions  except  those 
requiring  the  filing  thereof  within  a  certain  time,  and  the 
giving  of  notice  or  the  publication  thereof  as  substituted 
notice  shall  apply  to  such  bill  in  the  same  manner  as  to 


31 

every  other  local  or  private  bill.  Such  bill,  upon  such  a 
certificate  of  urgency  by  the  Governor,  shall  be  filed  with 
the  Secretary  of  State  immediately  before  the  introduction 
thereof,  and  the  expense  of  the  printing  thereof  for  the  pur- 
pose of  distribution  to  persons  asking  for  the  same,  and  for 
the  use  of  the  Legislature,  shall  be  borne  by  the  parties  pro- 
moting the  same,  as  hereinbefore  provided. 

Section  56.  Bills  affecting  Departments  or  affecting  State 
Government.  When  any  general,  private  or  local  bill  other 
than  an  appropriation  bill,  or  a  supply  bill,  affects  any 
executive  department  of  the  State,  or  subordinate  bureau 
thereof,  or  any  official  of  any  such  executive  department, 
or  any  subordinate  board  or  any  official  thereof,  or  any 
court  or  commission,  notice  shall  be  given  to  such  depart- 
partment,  bureau,  commission,  court,  official  or  person  af- 
fected thereby,  at  least  five  days  prior  to  the  report  or 
third  reading  of  said  bill,  and  such  department,  board, 
court,  commission  or  official  shall  receive  notice  of  hearing 
before  the  eommittee,  to  whom  such  bill  shall  be  referred, 
at  least  three  days  prior  to  the  time  fixed  for  such  hearing, 
and  be  entitled  to  be  heard  thereat,  and  the  House  before 
which  such  bill  is  pending  shall  refer  every  such  bill  to  a 
committee  for  such  a  hearing. 

Section  57.  Power  of  Courts.  Any  court  before  which  the 
provisions  of  any  local  or  private  act  hereafter  passed  shall 
come  for  consideration  shall  have  power,  when  the  subject 
is  properly  before  the  court  by  the  pleadings,  to  inquire 
whether  Sections  50  to  56,  both  inclusive,  of  this  article  have 
been  duly  complied  with,  and  if  substantial  compliance  has 
not  been  made  with  such  sections,  to  declare  that  the  act 
before  the  court  for  consideration  has,  by  reason  of  such  non- 
compliance,  not  conferred  upon  the  promoters  thereof  or 
claimants  thereunder,  any  benefits,  privileges,  rights  or  im- 
munities, which  would  otherwise  flow  therefrom,  and  such 
court  shall  thereupon  adjudge  the  rights  of  the  parties,  or 
any  duties,  rights,  immunities  or  privileges  claimed  there- 
under, accordingly. 

SECTION  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  November  30,  i: 


32 

AN  ACT 

To  AMEND  ARTICLE  I.  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  LAW,  RELAT- 
ING TO  LEGISLATIVE  PROCEDURE. 

The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate 
and  Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

SECTION  i.  Article  i  of  the  Legislative  Law  is  hereby 
amended  by  adding  the  following  sections: 

Sec.  24.  Committees  on  Revision.  There  shall  be  in  each 
House  a  Committee  on  Revision,  to  consist  of  such  number 
of  members  as  the  House  shall  determine.  Every  bill  before 
its  third  reading  shall  be  referred  in  the  House  in  which  it 
originates  to  the  Committee  on  Revision  of  such  House, 
and  shall  be  examined  and  corrected  by  such  Committee  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  repetitions  and  unconstitutional 
provisions,  insuring  accuracy  in  the  text  and  references,  and 
consistency  with  the  language  of  the  existing  statutes. 
Such  Committee  shall  also  report  whether  the  object  of  the 
bill  can  be  secured  under  existing  laws  ;  or,  if  the  bill  is  local 
or  private,  by  the  enactment  of  a  general  law,  and,  if  there 
is  a  general  law  on  the  subject,  such  Committee  shall,  if 
practicable,  report  such  bill,  if  general,  as  an  amendment 
thereto.  A  change  in  the  sense  or  legal  effect,  and  any 
material  change  in  construction,  shall  be  reported  as  a 
recommendation  and  not  as  an  amendment. 

Sec.  25.  Counsel  to  Committee  on  Revision.  The  Committee 
on  Revision  in  each  House  shall  each  be  aided  by  the  service 
of  a  counsellor  at  law  of  at  least  ten  years'  practice,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Governor,  President  of  the  Senate  and 
Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  or  a  majority  of  them,  for  the 
term  of  two  years,  who  shall  receive  an  annual  salary  of 
three  thousand  dollars,  and  who  shall  assist  such  Com- 
mittee on  Revision  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  prescribed 
in  the  last  preceding  section,  and  shall  also,  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, when  requested,  perform  similar  duties  for  other 
committees  and  draft  and  revise  bills  for  members,  officers 
and  committees,  and  advise  with  them  as  to  the  constitu- 
tionality and  accuracy  of  proposed  legislation  and  its  con- 
sistency with  the  general  statute  law  of  the  State.  And 


33 

the  Committees  shall  each  appoint  such  assistants  to  such 
counsel  as  may  be  necessary,  who  shall  each  receive  a  salary 
not  to  exceed  dollars  per  annum. 

Sec.  6.  Titles  of  Certain  Bills.  The  title  of  each  bill  in- 
troduced amending  either  the  General  Laws,  the  Revised 
Statutes,  the  Code  of  Civil  Procedure,  the  Code  of  Crimi- 
nal Procedure,  the  Penal  Code,  the  New  York  City  Con- 
solidation Act  of  1882,  Chapter  583  of  the  Laws  of  1888, 
entitled  "  An  Act  to  revise  and  combine  in  a  single  act  all 
existing  special  and  local  laws  affecting  public  interests  in 
the  City  of  Brooklyn,"  or  the  charter  of  a  city  or  a  village, 
shall  contain  some  brief  reference  to  the  subject  matter  of 
the  proposed  amendment ;  and  a  reference  to  the  section  or 
sections  proposed  to  be  amended  shall  not  be  a  sufficient 
compliance  with  this  section. 

Sec.  27.  Reference  of  Appropriation  Bills.  A  bill  involving 
an  appropriation  from  the  State  Treasury,  when  introduced 
in  the  Senate,  shall  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Finance,  and,  when  introduced  in  the  Assembly,  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ways  and  Means. 

SECTION  2.  Section  23  of  said  law  is  amended  to  read 
as  follows : 

Section  23.  Duties  of  Commissioners  of  Statutory  Revision. 
It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Commissioners  of  Statutory  Re- 
vision on  request  of  either  House  of  the  Legislature  or  of 
any  committee,  member  or  officer  thereof,  to  draft  or  revise 
bills  or  render  opinions  as  to  the  constitutionality,  consist- 
ency or  other  legal  effect  of  proposed  legislation,  and  to  re- 
port by  bill  such  measures  as  they  deem  expedient. 

All  public  measures  shall,  before  their  third  reading,  be  re- 
ferred to  such  Commissioners,  who  shall  thereupon  report  to  the 
Legislature  the  effect  of  such  measures  and  their  proper  places 
in  the  body  of  the  statute  law. 

SECTION  3.  Section  4  of  Chapter  856  of  the  Laws  of  1895 
relating  to  Reference  of  Appropriation  Bills  is  hereby  re- 
pealed. 

SECTION  4.  This  act  shall  take  effect  on  January  i,  1897. 

[9495MJ 


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